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For cozy den nights...
This one really grows on you ... I like it more each time I listen. Friendly, unpretentious vocals, winning musical arrangements Great for cuddling ... It's hard to feel blue with music this upbeat and relaxing. Whether you're a bear, an otter, or some other member of the human menagerie, this album is good for whatever ails you. An album for adult 'bear' men.
The Complete bear is honored to be included in Time Out New York's annual gift guide - right under the Hillary Clinton Nutcracker!!
Maine Bear pottery (thecompletebear.com, $18–$100)
Has someone been eating your porridge, furry friend? Next time, make sure you serve it in a handmade salt-glaze bowl that bears the unmistakable ursine marker. Mugs, plates, creamers, platters and canisters let hirsute hunks mark all the grub they’ve hunted and gathered.
The pub is less than a year old and not exclusively a gay bar, however, they do host Bear night every second Wednesday of the Month.
There is always a very gay friendly and bearish crowd as you can see from the pictures on the site.
719 Route 12, Westmoreland, NH
Tell 'em BrawnyBear sent ya . . .
by Buzzed Beef
Greetings Bears.
You may notice my salutation didn't have its usual exclamation point. There's good reason for that: I can't report happy news on the fitness front for me this past week.
Why the gloom? For starters, I was lazy and lethargic. The optimism and enthusiasm with which I wrote last week's article didn't survive past Monday morning. The worst? I didn't do one bit of exercise all week. I didn't do one minute of cardio. The closest I came to lifting weights was putting the plates back on the racks while straightening up the gym floor while working. Oh, and it was Thanksgiving. So, to add insult to injury, I ate a lot too. Boy, did I eat a lot....turkey, dressing, gravy, deviled eggs, green bean casserole, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, ice cream, brownies, etc, etc, etc. And of course there were leftovers.
I also received (perhaps I should say 'had confirmed') some bad news about someone who is close to me and has been involved in my fitness quest. Naively, it hadn't previously occurred to me that anyone other than myself could have such an impact on my efforts at the gym. No matter, I must deal with the news and move on.
It wasn't a good week, fellas. That's all I can say...no reasons, no excuses. I just failed on all accounts and I really have no one else to blame but me.
I'm off to the Castro tree lighting ceremony. Maybe a dose of Christmas cheer will motivate me to do better. Let's hope this week is better than my last one.
Until next time,
Hugs (and licks if you want 'em)
Huzbear got up at the crack of dawn on Friday to venture off to the malls. I rolled over and wondered what I was going to do with 20 lbs of turkey leftovers – Turkey soufflé? Turkey ala King? Turkey Quiche? The options are just not pretty.
So to get your holiday shopping off to a beary good start – we’ve developed this must have list for all the bears on your list. Turkey anyone?
Happy Shopping . . .
Please note that we are limiting the total number of contestants to a maximum of 16, up to 12 U.S. and 4 International (whether or not we actually receive 4 International), strictly determined by the order in which the Contestant Applications are received. Regardless of whether we receive 16 applications or not, we must receive your completed application and paid registration no later than Friday, December 7, 2007. We encourage you to complete and return it promptly as contestant
slots usually fill long before the deadline.
All perspective contestants should make sure to:- fill out and MAIL in the contestant application (you can download it from our www.bearrendezvous.com website under the "Contestants" tab
- register for IBR 2008- send a face profile picture to contestants@bosf.org
Because we are moving the deadline up, we wanted to notify you in addition to the information on our website.
Thank you and if you know of anyone who wants to be a contestant, please let them know !!
Thank you!
Paul and Cody,
Contestant Coordinators, International Bear Rendezvous 2008
Please help us keep your contact information and emailing preferences up-to-date. To change your profile or remove yourself from our mailing list, please click on: Update Profile
For further information contact:
Bears of San Francisco
Email: info@bosf.org
http://www.bosf.org
If you're like me, you are a bear until you've had your first cup of coffee in the morning. The aromatic blend can tame the grizzly in all of us.
Decadently luxurious. Heavenly syrupy body in a laid-back orchestration of pleasant earthy, herbal and warm-spice flavor notes creates a pool of deep ponderance for your palate.
Indonesian based blend of all naturally processed coffees.
Que do todas las fiesta nacionales importante, el Día de Acción de Gracias es las más porque nos brinda a cada uno la oportunidad de meditar y disfrutar de lo que tenemos.
Realmente tenemos muchos motivos para dar las gracias y nos gustaría compartir las gracias con las personas que participaron en nuestro: nuestros éxito clientes y amigos.
De parte de la Familia “The Complete Bear,” espero que tu y los tengan un Día de Acción de Gracias fantástico.
Here at The Complete Bear we have many reasons to give the thanks, but Liza and I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the people who have made this a wonderful journey: On behalf of the "The Complete Bear Family," we wish you and your family the warmest of Thanksgivings.
De parte de la Familia "The Complete Bear," espero que tu y los tengan un Día de Acción de Gracias fantástico.
by Buzzed Beef
Greetings Bears! As we approach the Thanksgiving Day holiday this week, I would like to talk about some things that I am truly thankful for in my life. But before I do that, I want to give yall an update on my gym and fitness efforts.
Now....some Thanksgiving goodies.....I want to thank Mike and The Complete Bear for giving me this forum to chronicle my successes and failures. I would also like to thank you, the readers, for indulging me in my victories. I am thankful to my employers who have been generous enough to allow me to juggle my schedules so that I may work at two jobs which I thoroughly enjoy. Special thanks to my trainer, Scott, who has taught me so much and helped me make some incredible changes in my body this past year. And I especially want to thank everyone who has come into my life and shared their experiences (both good and bad) with me...I am truly the richer for knowing you all. You are all invited (if only symbolically) to my place for Thanksgiving Dinner. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope it is truly an incredible day for all of you.
Until next time,
Hugs (and licks if you want 'em)
2007 Best of the Bears
Vote for one in each category. Voting will run through 12/31/07.Best Bear Artist -
· Bearfighter
· The BEARatones
· S. James Curtis
· Hirsute Pursuit
· Eric Flores, San Diego
Best Bear Performer –
My boyfriend enjoys chats on gay.com and bear411. I was told through a mutual Internet acquaintance, who didn't know we were together, that my boyfriend said he is single. His online profiles also leave off his relationship status. While they don't say he's "Single" they don't say "Monogamously coupled" either.
Anyway, I found X-rated pictures, as well as sexual e-mails he had sent to another cub that lives nearby.
I guess my questions to you guys are: Is he cheating? How do I approach him about chatting online? Do I even need to approach him? Do I need to stay in this relationship?Worried in Wachovia
HOT: Ugh, men are dogs . . .
HEAVY: You’re so helpful. This coming from the queen of late night chats. What’s your screen name again? PowerBottom something or other?
HOT: That’s Mr. PowerBottom to you, bitch.
HEAVY: Whatever. We get asked about monogamy all the time. And it depends on the couple. Some need a one on one exclusive relationship. Some others are happy sowing the wild oats all over town. It’s what works for you and what you are comfortable with.
Above all - it’s about trust, which obviously has been breached in your case. You don’t trust him, and you’re looking for evidence of wrong doings – that’s bad. His online antics may be nothing more than a little cyber cruising, but if that bothers you – you can try to get him to change (not likely) or it’s time to move on.
Want to add a little Bear Pride to your wardrobe?
These stylish polos make any casual Friday just a little bit woofier.
A finely knit shirt that is bound to impress. The interlock knit features a subtle jacquard. A soft, comfortable favorite, this good-looking sport shirt performs nicely with a dash of elegance through repeated wear and washing. 60/40 cotton/poly; jacquard collar and cuffs, contrast placket lining, locker patch, side vents, double-needle hem; plastic buttons.
Size L-3X. Larger sizes available by special order. Allow 4 weeks for delivery of special order.
The National Institue of Health provides free and helpful diabetes information:
USA Government Diabetes Info: FREE - Diabetes Help
Print out your own Diabetic Chart to keep track of blood sugars. Free Chart
Experts at the Joslin Diabetes Center, affiliated with Harvard Medical School, are offering free online classes to help people with diabetes learn more - and take better care of themselves. Each course takes only about 15 minutes to complete and tests you on what you learned - getting 80-percent correct on the quiz at the conclusion of the class will earn you a certificate! Among the topics you can explore: How diabetes works, top strategies for controlling blood sugar, and the ins and outs of treating type 2 with oral medications. It is not just people with diabetes who can benefit. A spouse or other family member who is in the dark about their loved ones diabetes is the perfect audience.
Travel trip – You and husbear have just returned from a woofy weekend away and are making your way back to the long term parking lot. Now, where is that damn car? Sound familiar?
Rather than give husbear another opportunity to remind you of your short term memory loss and all the implications of getting older - try this hint.
Before you leave, whip out the cell phone and take a picture of where you parked. If husbear wonders what you’re doing, include him in the shot and tell him you just wanted to capture the start of your trip together.
And you thought that little camera was only good for taking pictures of Mr. Stud at the pool with the skimpy Speedo. That one you’ll have to explain on your own.
Woofy travels . . .
by Buzzed Beef
Greetings Bears!
By all appearances, it looks like I am awake while I am writing to you this week; but I may very well be asleep. I've spent most of this weekend asleep, trying to make up for what I am missing during the week. What a pity sleep is something that can't be stored up.
I am three weeks into my new schedule here and I gotta confess that my energy levels are at an all-time low. I knew it was going to take my body some time to get adjusted to this, but I didn't expect to be so drained. Of course, I am not exactly in my twenties anymore so I shouldn't expect to be bouncing off the walls after just a few hours's sleep.
My workouts have definitely suffered from this. I asked my trainer if I could reschedule every session this past week because I was so tired. He accommodated me, but when the re-scheduled time arrived, I was still too tired and I ended up canceling. My trainer needs clients he can depend on as we are his livelihood. As a result, I have made the decision to let my trainer go at the present and go on my own until I get adjusted to the demands of my daily schedule. I've promised my trainer I shall hire him again, but I may need to wait until I get past the holidays before doing so.
I am extraordinarily disappointed in myself. But this was my decision to make and now I have to live with it for the time being. I have stumbled upon a very large bump in the road on my quest now. This is where I find out what I am made of. Please keep your fingers crossed for me that I may prevail.
I'm so tired that I am not even sure this article made any sense.
Until next time,
Hugs (and licks if you want 'em)
Starbucks told me so . . .
Part of my daily routine is to walk the dogs over to Starbuck's for my morning jolt of caffeine. Yesterday's outing was unremarkable - I exchanged pleasantries with the head barister who has my "usual" ready before I ask, scoped out the new latin boy working the register and waited while some lovely lady held up the line for cream and stuff by chatting loudly into her cell phone. It was 7:45, and she stood between me and the pound of sugar and cream I need to make coffee.
A very dangerous place to be, indeed . . .
But today, the world had changed. My Starbucks was red. No, I mean really red!!
Apparently, the holidays had landed last night: The baristers sported new red t-shirts, the wreaths on the door were red (uh, it's not even Thanksgiving), carols played on the muzak and the impulse items overflowed the countertops. The holidays have entered the building!
Guess, this is my not so subtle way of reminding you the holidays are around the corner. Don't just take my word for it, just ask your local barister!
At The Complete Bear, we have a few items you won't find at your local coffee shop. Bear Boxers, BuiltTough T's, Neoprene Harnesses, and Bear Jock Straps - plenty of items under the tree for your favorite cub.
Oh yea, and if he says he is versatile - try not to giggle!
We asked 12,000+ bears what they considered themselves - here's what they told us: 
Got Fur's second annual poll, the very best in all things ursine. Interrupted Journeys:
Lessons from The Lazarus Generation
A strange silence has fallen upon us. Twenty-five years ago, AIDS emerged full-blown in the gay communities of America, especially the urban enclaves of San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles, and devastated an entire generation of gay men. Survivors of ground zero, the “Lazarus generation” of gay men (and fellow travelers), have not only endured a historically unique, epoch-altering collective experience, but have returned to life, profoundly transformed in many ways. Yet, their voices have fallen silent.
Submissions should be 1500 – 4000 words in length, be original or unpublished work (elaborations or redevelopment of previously published work acceptable), established authors, scholars, and other professionals as well as fresh voices are welcome. Diversity of perspectives and richness of experience encouraged.
Deadline: September 30, 2008.
Contact: Les Wright at leskwright@thinkingbear.com orPO Box 460358, San Francisco, CA 94114
Please query first.
Les Wright, Ph.D.
Les K. Wright, PhD, is a writer, educator, photographer, and gay community activist, and lives in San Francisco. Founder of the Bear History Project, editor of The Bear Book and The Bear Book II, and author of numerous articles and essays, his work has appeared in Hometowns: Gay Men Write about Where They Belong, Bears on Bears, Queer Sites: Urban Histories of Gay Male Experience, AIDS: The Literary Response, Queering the Canon: Defying Sights in German Literature and Culture, and elsewhere. At present he writes film reviews for CultureVulture.net, pens the “Bear History” column for A Bear’s Life, and teaches writing at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California. He also serves ex officio on the boards of the Billy Foundation as grant writer and of the Bears of San Francisco as Historian, is involved with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Community Initiative, and recently assumed programming duties for Ursology, the writers and artists cultural event, held in San Francisco in conjunction with the International Bear Rendezvous annually.“Tangled Memories of a Wounded Storyteller: Notes on Bear History and Cultural Memory,” his exploration of trauma, loss, and collective memory appeared in 2005 in torquere: Journal of the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Studies Association. Other samplings of his Lazarus generation writing can be found online at
http://www.mrcforchange.org/onceuponatime.html and at www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=6775.
leskwright@thinkingbear.com mobile: 415 317 6307 vox/fax: 415 738 4743PO Box 460358
San Francisco, CA 94146-0358
There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.-- A. J. Muste
Only a barbarian believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature. -- Robert A.Heinlein
Greetings Bears! As we move out of Daylight Savings Time and the nights grow longer, I hope everyone out there has found them a nice warm man to snuggle up with at night for the upcoming winter months. This is actually my favorite time of the year. I love the cooler weather. I guess bundling up against the cold reminds me of my childhood and all the incredible holiday foods that are just around the corner.
Unfortunately, for those of us trying to keep fit and keep the pounds off, the holidays can be a challenging time. I'm afraid my holiday eating has started a wee bit too early this year. I've been trying to maintain my diet as best I can, but for some reason I have been having the most incredible cravings for sugar. I don't know if it's purely psychological or if it has something to do with the new schedule I am keeping and my body is craving the energy yielded from simple carbs, but I have found myself ingesting far too much refined sugar the last few weeks. My delivery system of choice seems to be gummi bears. I'm sure Freud would have something to say about that. Every time I turn around I am buying a pack of gummi bears and chowing down on them. It's gotten out of hand and I can really tell the difference in my performance at the gym. I've been purposely staying away from the scale because I know this bad habit is putting the weight back on. I knew I would have moments of weakness on this quest and give in to temptation, but I was not expecting it to grip me so strongly as it has these last few weeks. But, here I am and all I can do is accept my weaknesses and learn and grow from them.
Thus, I am attempting to wrestle back control of my eating habits today. Prior to my new schedule, when I had a day off in the middle of the week, I would cook enough food on Sundays to last through Tuesday. Then, on Wednesday, I would cook enough to get me through Saturday. I've tried that the last few Sundays and by Wednesday I was so tired that cooking was the last thing on my mind. So Thursday through Friday would find me eating out all the time. I simply cannot do that anymore. So today, I am cooking for the entire week. I've been going at it for the last two hours. I've got every burner on the stove going in the background right now as I type. Chicken is boiling in a pot. I'm re hydrating sun-dried tomatoes. I've got onions and garlic sauteing. In a while, I will be cranking up the oven to make an enormous egg frittata to portion out for my breakfasts for the week. My trainer is not wild about my supplementing my diet with protein shakes, so I had pulled myself off of them; but I must now incorporate them back into my daily diet. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.
Until next time,
Hugs (and licks if you want 'em)
with beats per minute. . .
If you like you music on the nasty side - check out Hirsute Pursuit.
Sleazy dance beats pound along at tempos that encourage fornication, while sounds of ecstasy cannot be ignored.
Being a man has become a lost art, but help is on the way. We combine the sensibilities of a weekend at the cabin with the sophistication & style of a night on the town. The Complete Bear was founded with the intent of restoring the style and service of a traditional men’s store.
The Complete Bear is committed to outfitting the modern bear with solutions that acknowledge his discerning tastes and busy schedule. Our mission is to become the single source of clothing, home furnishings and community for the accomplished bear and his cub.
At The Complete Bear, we measure trust in actions more than words. We hope you never have to return a selection, but if you do, rest assured you will not be disappointed.
November is National Diabetes Month. More than 17 million people in the United States have diabetes, but about one-third of them have yet to be diagnosed with the disease. An additional 16 million people have pre-diabetes, an elevated blood glucose level.
Diabetes is caused when the body is unable to produce insulin (type 1 diabetes) or can't properly use the insulin it produces (type 2 diabetes). Each day approximately 2,700 people learn that they have diabetes.
Recent studies have shown that healthy food choices, weight management, activity, and stress management can all contribute to a prevention of diabetes. These same factors also help individuals who are already diagnosed with diabetes to better manage their condition.
To learn more about diabetes and your health, visit The American D